The Mystery of The Stars
by Violet Rose in The Clouds
Summary: Nightmare Moon was defeated and Princess Luna has been redeemed. The Two Sisters are reunited and Equestria now has not one, but two Princesses. In the depths of her new home called the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight reflects on the mystery of the Night Sky Stars and why they choose to help Nightmare Moon escape from her prison.


Pinkie Pie knew how to make a mean party, that was for sure. From the surprise party in her library to the party in the Town Hall to the party celebrating the return of Princess Luna, not once had she faltered in her attempts to make each and every one of them enjoyable for everypony, nor had she deliberately excluded anyone. Twilight, for the first time in her life, truly enjoyed a party that wasn't hosted by her family and also the first time she was exhausted from an activity that did not include late-night studying.

On top of the grand adventure to obtain the Elements of Harmony and the redemption of Princess Luna, it had honestly been quite a long, long day.

Princess Celestia's Sun had descended below the hills by now, replaced by Princess Luna's Moon in the sky. The day was slowly but surely drawing to a close.

She was determined to see that it ended, preferably with her in her new bed.

"Bye, Twilight! See you tomorrow!" The girls made their farewells as they trotted away from the library. Twilight stood on the porch, patiently seeing them off.

"See you tomorrow, girls!" Twilight waved a hoof in her friends' general direction. "Remember, nine 'o'clock at the park!"

"Do bring Spike along next time!" Fluttershy said. "I'd love to have another talk with him."

"You betcha, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash replied. "We're going to have so much fun tomorrow! Just you wait and see!"

"See you girls! Bye!" Twilight turned on her hooves and trotted into the library, gently pulling the door inward. With another step into the main room, she closed the door behind her, leaving her alone in her new home. A long exhale of breath came out from her open mouth.

"Well," Twilight remarked. "It was heck of a long day. I better get ready for bed."

Spike laid upstairs in his bed which was located at the the foot of hers, sleeping away like a log.

Twilight took a look around her new home. The lack of a current source of light meant that the library was immersed in a purple navy-coloured sort of darkness, making it a challenge to pick out any remote detail at all.

Twilight snorted. With another intake of breath, she squeezed her eyes shut and tightened her muscles. Basic Magic theory and application had taught her that her cranial muscles, including the brain were essential in redirecting magic to their expulsion point; the horn.

Lavender sparks spurted out for a few seconds before a violet ball of light inflated out from her horn like a blown-up balloon, gradually swelling to a sphere the size of her head before detaching and floating off to a point far above her head that was just barely touching the ceiling. As a result, a bright light filled the library that allowed her to properly see the room and navigate around the obstacles to her destination.

Twilight slowly trotted through the ground floor, taking in the scents, textures and aesthetics of what would serve as her new home.

A thorough look at the library the first time she was inside was hardly possible; Pinkie Pie's surprise party had seen to that. Now, with the events of yesterday behind her, she had the rest of the night and then some to see what it was like.

A strong smell of wood filled her nostrils, which was to be expected, coming from a house that was made from a tree. What was surprising was not the small details scattered around her, however, but the entire tree itself. The library that she was living in was essentially hollowed out to serve as a public place and a living space for a pony, which by all rights should have killed the tree due to a lack of a proper vascular bundle, yet continued to live on with all the clear signs of a healthy plant.

She felt the weight of her saddlebag hanging down on her withers, shrugging as she shifted the weight around.

 _Better head straight to bed. I have to wake up early for my first friendship meeting tomorrow._

Twilight trotted past the shelves that held the Elements of Harmony guide, recalling the way Pinkie Pie found the third book and passed it to her before hopping off.

 _Under E?_ She gave a frown. _Whoever decided that an alphabetical system would be the best system for a library, and a public one no less, was below even that of an amateur librarian assistant._

The bookshelves were made out of wood as well, maybe the same material as the walls and tree that housed the bookshelves themselves; perhaps it was all sculpted out from the tree itself instead of drilling and moving new wooden furniture in. If that was the case, it would be nothing short of impressive.

She slowly levitated three books out of her saddlebag, scanning the covers to see what their titles were.

 _Crinkle!_

Twilight's head snapped to an envelope that fell out from her bag, bringing it up with her magic to eye level.

 _A letter? How did that get in there, anyway?_

A frown creased her face as she studied it for a moment. Slowly, she hesitantly leaned in to take a quick sniff of the letter and studied the Cutie Mark seal.

 _Smells like orchids...Mum? Oh._

In all the excitement and celebrations, she had completely forgotten about her parents back in Canterlot.

She slowly unrolled the scroll with her magic, reading out the message.

 _Dear Twilight Sparkle,_

 _Princess Celestia filled us in on everything that happened before and after the Summer Sun celebration. Canterlot was a little panicky when it was revealed that the rising of the sun would be delayed, but the Royal Guard managed to keep the peace and tell everypony to stay in their homes. I can't say the same for other cities, though. I heard places like Manehattan and Fillydelphia were thrown into chaos when their clocks and schedules were thrown out of whack. Which leads me to my next point._

 _I couldn't believe it when we heard the news that Princess Celestia has a younger sister called Princess Luna; we thought it was just a bedtime tale that ponies would tell their foals. Well, this would be quite a change for Equestria now, wouldn't it?_

 _We've just received the news that you've decided to move to Ponyville from Canterlot. I'm a little upset that you didn't inform us about this beforehoof, but we're happy for the fact that you've decided to move out and make a new home for yourself in a nice, friendly and rustic town away from all the stress of city life. Not that we're implying that Princess Celestia's castle is terrible, but...we're glad that you're showing signs of independence now._

 _But it was nothing compared to the stunned feeling we had when we heard that you charged into a desolate castle in the middle of a deadly forest to save Princess Luna! That was a dangerous job that should have been left to the Royal Guard, and I'm sure that I would have stood in the Princess' way to prevent you from placing a hoof in there just to ensure that you would have been safe._

 _Oh, honey, we're so proud of you, saving Equestria and making new friends at the same time. Your dad often joked about how there would be a second Princess in Equestria before you would make a new friend, but here you are with six new friends to have fun with and share many new experiences together. Life can be funny sometimes._

 _You used to talk about how you would end up being a professor at the School of Gifted Unicorns, teaching new generations of unicorns and learning more about the mysteries of the Universe while delving deeper into your studies, but now it seems that Princess Celestia has sent you to Ponyville to learn about this new magic called "The Magic of Friendship," in addition to the Mage-level magical studies that you are already taking._

 _Well, I personally think it's a little rushed, seeing as how you never had any friends you'd consider to be close until now, but your father and I still wish you all the best in learning everything you can about this new form of Magic. Just remember to take a break every now and then, alright? All work and no play makes Joe a dull colt!_

 _Be sure to visit us every now and then, okay? And bring along your friends, too. I'd love to meet each and every single one of them._

 _Stay safe!_

 _~Your loving mother_

 _P.S: I've sent you a jar of my homemade chocolate cookies that you've always loved so much. A copy of_ 101 Basic Recipes For The Young Adult _is also attached to a package that should arrive at your doorstep tomorrow, since it's high time you started learning what it's like to live by yourself._

Twilight rolled the letter up and placed it back into her saddlebag, a small smile curving on her face.

Even in the aftermath of a Kingdom-changing event, her mother was the same warm, caring mare that raised her from foalhood into the mare she is now.

Her father was an astronomer that worked in the Royal Observatory; her mother as an office-worker in a publishing company. Last she heard, her mother had just signed a deal with a new writer who wrote stories about adventures and travels to exotic, far-off lands, ensuring that the books would be printed and sold to the general public in the following months.

 _Speaking of books…_

She turned back to the three books that were still in her levitation field, apparently having forgotten about them whilst reading her letter. Unicorns that received some measure of training could hold objects with their magic while focusing on other matters, a test that was commonly used in her school to test a unicorn's aptitude in Unicorn Magic.

 _Three books_. Three books that helped her save Equestria from Nighttime Eternal and a frozen fate that awaited Equestria.

The first, a book that introduced the story of the Two Sisters to newcomers to Equestria and young foals. The second, a book that linked the long-lost Princess Luna and the mythological figure known as the Mare in The Moon. The third, a book that taught her the basics of the Elements of Harmony; six mysterious artifacts that drew upon the Power of Friendship and Love to cleanse the land of Evil and Hate.

Twilight paused for a moment. _Hmm. I should go straight back to my room._

Without another word, she trotted off towards the staircase, bringing along her books and ball of light in her aura of magic. Twilight gazed at the books the way a student would when they laid their eyes upon an exam paper which they had passed with flying colours.

 _Thank Celestia I read that old fairy-tale book, despite what she said. Maybe I should pay even_ more _attention to books to help solve more problems as they come along._

"Squee!" Twilight let out a small gasp of excitement, her lips stretching as far as they could to the edges of her face.

As she walked, Twilight pored over the pages of _Predictions and Prophecies_ , the familiar words she saw not thirty-hours ago that repeated themselves as an ominous warning in the forefront of her mind were now a faint whisper; a relic from a different time and era that ended not a day ago.

 _Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal._

Her faint smile disappeared, replaced by a frown. _What did this mean?_

The stars of the Night were, to the naked eye, specks of light that peppered the Night Sky. In terms of astronomy, they were giant balls of burning gas millions upon millions of furlongs away. In the Day, they were all but invisible, their tiny gleams obscured by the blinding light of Princess Celestia's Sun. Were the Night stars complicit in the release of Nightmare Moon?

Nightmare Moon was, for all intents and purposes, an omnicidal maniac with a plan that Twilight did not know of. By hoping to release eternal night on an unsuspecting Equestria, the diurnal ponies would soon fall asleep. With no Sun to wake them, they would eventually die from a lack of food and water or be left exposed to nocturnal predators. A lack of a source of heat meant that the ambient temperature would eventually fall below freezing point, turning seas, rivers and oceans into gigantic bodies of ice seen only at the Polar Regions.

And then there was the other side of the World.

As the personal student of Princess Celestia, she had access to untold riches and wealth stored away in Royal Vaults, both in terms of money, equipment and information. Airships, boats and first-class train carriages served as transport vehicles for V. (Very Important Ponies) which she was considered one; advanced scientific instruments and rare books of Magic, Science and Literature were accessible to her at the touch of a hoof, with a group of dedicated staff tasked to maintain them should the need arise. A millennium's worth of knowledge was stored in books and scrolls in the vast, fire-proof and climate-controlled archives of the Royal Library, brought in from countless sources all over the World.

But in spite of being able to travel abroad to broaden her horizons, it seemed as if the entire World was coming to _her_ instead. Animal dignitaries and ambassadors of various shapes and sizes from all four corners of the globe came to visit Canterlot to see the Sun Goddess herself in an effort to strengthen their bilateral relations, ranging from the common Donkeys to the Buffaloes to the more uncommon Minotaurs, the Camels and the occasional exotic animal like the Zebras and the Giraffes. She had seen more of what the World had to offer in a single year than what a normal pony would have in a decade, thanks to her connections.

After all, being in control of the Sun meant Power, and Power attracted sentient beings.

Tales of flora and fauna that lived in far-off lands were regaled to both Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle by ambassadors who were trained to display their gifts of the gab; carnivorous fish that swarmed in packs and could strip an adult cow to bone in minutes. Snakes that could wrap their bodies around an adult pony and slowly choke the life out of its prey before swallowing it whole. Temples were erected in honour of the Sun where living animals were sacrificed and their still-beating hearts ripped out of their chests to appease their savage and barbaric gods. Lands where eternal winter existed and birds that could not fly on land instead became the Kings and Queens of the seas, living side by side with bears that were not brown like the ones in Equestria, but just as ferocious and as white as the driven snow.

A crawling sensation ran down her withers and back, making her fur hair stand on end.

By releasing eternal night on Equestria, the other side of the World would be bathed in eternal sunlight.

With unrelenting heat and light, even the mightiest of oceans and rivers would dry up under the pressure with no respite. Forest fires would be as easy to start as lighting a match, and plants would eventually shrivel up and wilt under extreme water stress, killing off herbivores. Carnivores and omnivores would be next; the physiological stress from excess heat and a lack of food and water was a death knell for any living creature.

One side of the world would be covered in ice and snow, while the other would burn in a blazing inferno that cover entire lands and cities. Pockets of land trapped in between the two extremes would still be habitable, but it would be the end of civilisation as they know it. Progress would be irreversibly hampered and what resources they could find would be used for survival purposes rather than recreation or advancement.

 _And all because of a little jealousy that arose from the ponies' natural sleep cycle. Didn't Luna know that Ponies had to sleep sometime? That was such a selfish reason to send the World into-_

Twilight shook her head.

She discovered the Legend of the Elements of Harmony, the Tale of the Mare in the Moon and her connection to the long-lost Princess Luna in a fairy-tale book meant for foals. It was obvious that certain details were taken out for the sake of making the story easier to read for its target audience. Moreover, it wouldn't have made sense to an outside observer or impartial judgement, but it meant the world to the perpetrator in question.

Still, defeating Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony was her task, and she was lucky that she managed to obtain it from the ruins of the old castle…

She paused as her fetlock rested on the doorknob, her brow furrowing as she slowly pressed it down and pushed the door inward.

 _Why were the Elements of Harmony in the castle ruins, of all places?_

If Princess Celestia wanted to redeem her sister, she would have maximised her chances by taking all the stone orbs from her old palace and placed them into her new castle at Canterlot. It would have been a simple task of safekeeping them until she was ready to give them to Twilight and test her ability to tap into the Magic of Friendship.

Instead, she left them to the mercy of the Everfree Forest, where Time and the wild weather that nurtured the Everfree could have chipped away at them for a thousand years. And that's not even going into the possibility of looters helping themselves to the salvage that was left in the ruins after Princess Celestia moved from the Everfree palace to Canterlot.

If any of these orbs were moved away, it would have spelt the end of the World. What should have been prepared for and calculated in advance was instead left to Mercy and Lady Luck.

 _Perhaps it was a meant to be a trial of teamwork and camaraderie?_ She pondered. _I could have made my way past the obstacles that came up, but not without getting exhausted and a few physical injuries, which would have worked against me in the confrontation against Nightmare Moon._

Twilight gazed around her bedroom. The table itself followed the contoured wall that stood opposite her bed, with her quills, ink and stacks of paper arranged neatly upon it, with the round window a source of natural moonlight. Quietly pulling out the chair at the desk with her magic, she trotted over, sat down and opened up the first book; the magical ball of light an aid for her to read.

The question is, what did Princess Luna saw and went through before her transformation into Nightmare Moon that the books did not mention?

But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night.

Jealousy? Over the fact that ponies slept through her night? Surely she had a long time to get used to the fact that they would occupy different times of the ponies' day cycle. Or they could simply swap control of the Sun and the Moon if it came to that for a short time. Surely it would work, wouldn't it?

After all, being in control of the Sun meant Power, and Power attracted sentient beings.

Resentment? Perhaps. If ponies worshipped the ground that Princess Celestia trotted on yet treated Princess Luna like dirt, it would have been possible that it contributed to Princess' resentment of the Day and kickstarted the attempt to make it Eternal Night throughout the land.

If that was the case, then why did Princess Celestia scrub her name from the official records, leaving no trace of her name but in storybooks meant for foals? Why didn't she try to tell the public the truth about her sister and make them realise the effects their actions had on Princess Luna?

To start off on a new blank slate with an impressionable public? Impossible. After the introduction of a new Princess and Winged Unicorn, many ponies would be curious and conduct their own research into the matter. It would have been a matter of time before the truth would get out, possibly tainting the public's image of Princess Luna.

 _As if the public's image of her wasn't tainted enough already._

Perhaps, given enough time, the public would eventually learn to warm up to Princess Luna, accepting her as a co-ruler of Equestria alongside Princess Celestia. New generations of ponies would grow up in Equestria under this returned Royal Princess, creating new expressions, works of art and phrases that reflected her royal status.

That left the possibility of corruption, but from what? An outside source placed by a unicorn practitioner of the Dark Arts? The result of experimentation in mind magic that ultimately went awry? Or did she simply hold a long-hidden form of hate and negative sentiment for her sister and the World that boiled over one ordinary day?

 _That wouldn't make any sense. What could she get mad at her sister over about?_

She stated at the illustration of the Elements of Harmony surrounding Princess Celestia, noting the caption that was printed in italics underneath.

 _ **'Ego sum qui sum'**_

Alone, the Elements of Harmony were nothing more than hunks of rocks, useful only for hurling at enemies in a fight and posed a greater threat to the users that threw them. But together, they had the potential to be something far greater than themselves.

Twilight looked over an illustration from the first book, taking in the meaning that was spelt out for the reader to see.

Alone, Princess Celestia could do nothing but imprison her sister in the Moon for a thousand years as a temporary measure. In the end, the Stars aided Nightmare Moon in her escape back to Equestria, leaving her free to do whatever she wished with the Sun and Moon.

Six ponies combined could not even hope to take on Princess Celestia, even if she had an eighth of her full power, but with the Elements of Harmony, they saved the entire world and reunited the Two Sisters.

 _Speaking of Stars…_

What did the Stars stood to gain from releasing Nightmare Moon from her extraterrestrial prison? Stars, that were nothing more than burning spheres of gas billions upon billions of furlongs away from Equestria?

To show ponies their brightness? To display their beauty that Celestia's Sun blotted out just as easily as ink blotted out water?

Twilight shook her head a second time.

That was incredibly conceited of her to even _think_ so. Out of all the races of ponies, Pegasi would last the shortest at about a hundred years or so, Earth Ponies at around a hundred and twenty and Unicorns the longest at about a hundred and fifty if they were extremely lucky; all of which paled in comparison to the lifespan of even the most short-lived Hypergiant star, which lied at around a few million years. A revolution of a Galaxy arm would take the rise, growth, and fall of countless civilisations, races and even possibly immortals.

So why should a star even consider catering to an insignificant race of ponies? Or even help one get out of their prison, for that matter?

 _So what was the other possibility? That Princess Luna held control over the stars? Stars, that were just like the Sun that Princess Celestia controlled with her horn?_

Twilight ran a hoof down the page of the story book that focused on Princess Luna. The illustration of Princess Luna bringing out the Moon to push back the Day stared back at her.

 _-the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night._

No, nothing of the sort was mentioned. But in the early days of Equestria, rumours circulated that Princess Luna could actually change the Night Sky as easily as an artist could rake sand in a Zen garden; a unique skill that her elder sister did not possess. The stars, constellations and nebulae were hers to control, shifting them as she saw fit. Art on a massive scale, to change something so large and far away to suit a comparatively tiny Goddess in Equestria.

 _That's enough reading for tonight. Better hit the hay now._ She pushed the chair out and stood back out.

Up until the return of Princess Luna, Princess Celestia was the only Winged Unicorn in all of Equestria, and an immortal one at that. Guiding Equestria with her gentle hoof into an era of never-ending prosperity and peace was no easy task, adding to the challenge of raising the Sun and even the Moon after her sister was imprisoned.

Twilight glanced out of the window at the twinkling stars that dotted the night sky. Astronomy lessons she took in the School for Gifted Unicorns had familiarised her with all the stars in the night sky, including the names of the constellations, the nebulae and even the names of the galaxies that made the occasional appearance when the sky was clear and dark.

And of course, there was the Moon in all of its glory. Shining brightly in the sky, with its light a gentle glow that bathed all of Equestria in its reflected light from Princess Celestia's Sun. The ebony visage that served as an inspiration for generations of art of the Moon was gone now, leaving a blank slate in its wake.

 _Was that what she always thought about?_ Twilight gave a frown. _Every day for a thousand years, she lowered the Sun to make room for the Moon. The Moon, which held her sister captive in its cold, barren prison of rock and magic. So close, and yet so far away. Ripped apart for a millennium because of such a trivial matter._

 _How could she stand it?_

Along the path to her bed, she glanced down at Spike, who slept fitfully in his little basket. A bed usually reserved for high-pedigree dogs owned by rich ponies in Canterlot, her family had added one of her mother's hoof-stitched blankets and some spare sheets that were used to cover her cot when she was a young foal.

Spike, was, in some sense of the word, both a son and a friend. Hatching him out from his purple-spotted egg (How Spike incorrectly stated that it was a purple and green egg to Fluttershy, she couldn't tell) wasn't the sole factor in ensuring that she had custody over him.

A baby dragon was still a dragon nonetheless. Fears about how he could grow into a fearsome, fire-breathing dragon that feasted on herbivores like ponies and livestock manifested among the populace shortly after the news that he was hatched were sent out. The incident that made her Princess Celestia's personal student also thrust her family into the spotlight of the entire city, both because of her achievement and her newfound relationship with the Princess of Equestria itself.

A violet aura enveloped the duvet, lifting them up so that Twilight could easily slip into its warm embrace when it came back down. She snuggled in a little, familiarising herself with the physical sensations of her new bed. A cool draft wafted in from the room's only window, passing over the beds and down the stairs.

To raise Spike properly, xenobiologists and historians who specialised in Dragon History were brought in to offer advice and tips on raising the new dragon whelp. The hardiest and most experienced of Castle maids and servants were brought in to execute tasks that the Princess herself had entrusted them to do.

As a baby dragon, Spike had next to no control over his abilities. Accidental fire discharges were common, scaring and slightly injuring some of the staff assigned to him until they had the idea to put fireproofing spells on them. Gems and semi-precious stones were brought from many different corners to feed him and ensured that he stayed healthy and grew.

If Spike's care was tense, his education was intense. Equipment had to be specially modified to withstand his developing claws and sharp teeth, and personnel in charge had to take steps to ensure that they were not injured by his mischievous attempts to play with the objects around him or the ponies that were tending to him.

Twilight was there from the very beginning, feeding Spike and changing his diapers while learning about the difficulties of raising a child first-hoof.

He was like the brother she never had.

 _I couldn't imagine being away from him for a single month, let alone a thousand years._

Dragons lived for a very long time, she knew that. Studies on Dragons were few and far between, but one lesson in particular stood out to her; Dragons could sleep for a very long time.

Once they have reached a certain size and age, dragons went into a period of consciously-induced hibernation that could take up to at least a century at the very least. A dragon could, in theory, sleep over several pony lifetimes before waking up.

 _What if he goes to sleep and wakes up, only to find out that I'm gone? How would he react?_

 _But back to the main subject. I can worry about that later._

Princess Celestia had little to no time to deal with the loss of her precious sister. An entire kingdom was waiting for her administration and advice in political matters, such as defence, agriculture, education, foreign policy and other negotiations.

Princess Celestia, in addition to being the monarch of Equestria, was in charge of the education of Unicorn Magic for countless generations of Unicorns. A thousand years of experience of performing some of the most impressive feats daily would do that. No official textbook on Unicorn Magic could be opened up without seeing her name in the list of ponies credited. Basic tasks like levitation, telekinesis, energy beam manifestation and transfiguration as well as the more complex tasks like teleportation, invisibility and advanced telepathy all came from her teachings. In fact, a school for unicorns who possessed higher raw levels or skills in Magic was constructed.

It was common for young Unicorns in Canterlot to study in the Royal Palace and take lessons in Unicorn Magic, but only a select few throughout history were chosen to be Princess Celestia's personal student.

 _Why did she choose to do so? To personally tutor and watch over them?_

A unicorn like her would have a lot of potential in terms of magical growth. If a unicorn was not properly coached, they could grow up to have the skills and spells of an experienced mage but none of the morals and lessons that guided their actions. Worse still, they could resort to dark magic to obtain more power, stepping off the path of Friendship as dictated by the Five Qualities.

The end result would be a rogue Unicorn, wanting nothing but power to help impose their will on other sentient beings and shape the Lands of Equus to their whims. Their philosophy would collide with that of the Two Sisters, and conflict was inevitable, placing the lives of Princess Celestia and Luna at risk. Thankfully, there were very few recorded incidents of Unicorns that choose to defect and pose a threat to Equestria itself.

 _How many students came before me? How many will there be after I'm gone?_

Twilight tossed about, her smooth crowning glory now a messy, tangled bundle of hair. It was a common phenomenon, really. Sometimes, her mind tended to wander a bit too far and she would lie there in bed wide awake till the wee hours of the morning.

 _As many as Princess Celestia could take._

 _So what about Princess Luna? Would_ she _take on a personal student as well?_

Images of long waiting lines in front of the Royal Castle floated to the front of Twilight's mind, adult ponies and ponies with foals of their own, hoping to secure their spot as a student of Magic alongside the newly-returned Princess.

After all, Power attracted sentient beings.

 _What could Princess Luna teach that Princess Celestia couldn't?_

Being a student to the Royal Sisters was already a great honour by itself, but there could be unique opportunities that scholars like her would sell their tails for. But what opportunities could there be? Knowledge on controlling the Stars, perhaps? The Stars, who could be convinced to reach out and help a pony trapped in a celestial body?

The Stars were not malignant.

They could have freed her anytime, but they only did so a thousand years after she was sentenced to imprisonment, giving Princess Celestia ample time to prepare for her sister's return.

There were two possibilities. Either the detail was a fictional addition to the core story itself, which was very likely, or the stars indeed helped in Nightmare's escape, which would be very unlikely and require some in-depth explanation.

She could consult the publisher of the book and see the author in pony before asking questions. That, or ask the Princesses themselves.

 _The Stars somehow cared about Princess Luna so much that they decided to free her from her prison._

She imagined Princess Luna now in her new room, studying centuries' worth of literature, technological advancements, race relations and history in order to keep up to date and help smoothen her journey back into a modern-day Equestria.

Princess Celestia used her Magic to bring out the Sun every day for the citizens of Equestria and the neighbouring civilisations. Princess Celestia's Sun obeyed her will, but to hear about Stars moving on their own to free Nightmare Moon…

Twilight snuggled deeper into her bed as she stared out of the round window. The wooden texture of the oak material gave off a sense of intimate warmth and comfort that she rarely saw in Canterlot architecture design, which mainly consisted of steel and concrete hardscape materials. _Natural_ was the word she could use to describe the theme of the Golden Oaks Library. Almost no hard corners or turns existed in the design and architecture; instead, they had design features like fish tails and rounded corners as well as gradual shifts in tone, slope and texture.

Even the house that was her first home did not have the warmth and comfort that the treehouse had provided.

 _Home away from home._

Twilight glanced down at her flank, which flashed her own Cutie Mark for all of Equestria to see. Six white stars surrounded a single pink, six-sided star, with the last white star directly behind the pink star.

Whoever created the Universe and all the Stars in the sky made it so that the stars would care for the Two Sisters. The Stars would have the capability to empathise with the plight of the Two Sisters or, at the very least, have directives and orders to keep the both of them in a position to continue ruling and living together in the Universe.

That either meant that the Stars learnt how to do it themselves, and decided to help out the Princesses, or the Creator taught them to do it.

Which begged the question: _Who_ created the Universe? Who created Princess Celestia and Luna?

Twilight shifted about in her single bed, tearing her eyes away from the Library to stare at the wooden walls at the other side of the room.

In all her years of studying at the hoof of Princess Celestia, she rarely asked her mentor and teacher any questions about the distant past, instead resorting to records and literature of Equestrian history. From the formation of Equestria to the imprisonment of Nightmare Moon to the Reunification of the Two Sisters, she could recall every date and detail of every important event.

From the creation of the Canterlot Royal Castle to the opening date of the School for Gifted Unicorns and the signing of the peace treaty with the Gryphon Empire, she could write an essay on each and every event, even summarising every event into a fun and easy lesson for other ponies to learn.

 _So what about Pre-Equestrian history? What came before the Pony race?_

Someone more powerful than Princess Celestia and Luna, even in her alternate form as Nightmare Moon…

 _It wasn't possible, was it?_

Princess Celestia, despite being the sole ruler of Equestria up until her sister's return, called herself 'Princess' instead of the highest title a mare could have, 'Queen.'

 _Why was that so?_

She could have taken on the title anytime she asked for it and save for an odd complaint here and there, almost nopony would have objected to it.

 _Was there somepony out there higher than she was or is? Somepony that she respected and looked up to?_ Twilight wondered. _If there was such a pony, why wasn't_ I _told about it?_

Every question begged an answer and every answer beget another question. Cut off the head of a hydra, and two more will grow in its place. It never seemed to end, did it? It was just another race into eternity; a journey that never ended, just like Celestia and Luna's journey through their immortal lives.

A smirk stretched across her face despite her tiredness.

 _As if anything like this could deter her. As if a mystery like this could deter a scholar that was trained to be curious and inquisitive about the world around her._

Her eyelids felt like lead now; background noises were slowly becoming more and more distant, as if she was hearing them underwater.

 _I couldn't imagine being away from Spike for a single month, let alone a thousand years._

How had she treated him, even after her family was given custody of him? There was the occasional birthday and Summer Sun Celebration, but she focused more on her studies and magical experiments than paying attention to his growth and social development.

 _Granted, Equestria was in imminent danger the last time the invitation came up, but…when was the last time I've ever gave anypony a display of affection besides Spike, my parents and Princess Celestia?_

 _How long will I live for? A hundred and fifty years? How does that compare to Spike's lifespan? It'll be like comparing the lifespan of an ant to a Pegasus._

 _I won't be around for him for long._

A lavender aura enveloped Spike, slowly and carefully bringing the dragon whelp over from his cot into her open appendages. She slowly brought them together once Spike was laid upon her barrel, her body's warmth was supplemented with that of the duvet's, combining them to make a warm embrace for Spike to sleep in.

 _Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Tha-thump._

She laid there for a while longer, listening to the rhythmic beats of his slow, deep heartbeat against her own.

The sounds of gentle snoring soon filled the room as both pony and dragon slept their fitful sleeps.

* * *

The ponies of Equestria slept through Princess Luna's beautiful Night not because they they shunned it, but because it was a period of rest and peace from the light and activity under Princess Celestia. Light and Darkness. Order and Chaos. Life and Death. Take one part out, and an imbalance would follow. Peace would only be restored when both were present.

The Moon, now without her visage stood still as a pale, blank face in the sky, shining its pale light upon the land of Equestria. To most ponies, it was the light that they slept and rested under. To Princess Luna, it was a light to be awake and study more about the land she had spent a millennium away from.

A spare, round room at the top of the Royal Canterlot Observatory served as a temporary place to stay until a more suitable room in the Royal Castle could be fully constructed to Princess Luna's specifications. However, due to the changing times and the impracticality of certain features that she wanted, like exotic piranhas that served as pets in an aquarium and several young and nubile Saddle Arabian slaves-in-waiting, she had to negotiate with Princess Celestia on what would end up in the final draft as the plan for her future room, which in turn delayed the construction of her quarters. Until then, the Observatory room would have to do.

"With the introduction of the train, transportation times were drastically shortened to about a fraction of its former length," Princess Luna recited from a book. "More goods, personnel and services could be shipped to many places in a shorter period of time, accelerating the development of cities, towns and other populated areas."

"The train relies on a new type of machine called the steam engine. It was constructed in the Year of our Princess, Five Hundred and Ninety-Three by two inventors called…"

Princess Luna glanced up from the book towards the Moon, cocking an eyebrow as her mane gently waved and shimmered in the moonlight that flowed in from the skylight. Without another word, she slowly exhaled as she stretched out with her magic into the Dream Realm.

The Night was her realm, and she maintained a constant vigil over the living beings that resided in them, no matter how short of a time they stayed in there.

Her eyes widened and softened, however, once she registered the addition of a new presence that came from the location of Ponyville. The signature brought about a sensation of familiarity from deep within her.

"Rest well, Twilight Sparkle." She whispered. "You deserve it."

She shifted her glance from the Moon to the Stars that dotted the Night sky. Created by the Universe's Creator, they had free will of their own to do as they wished, save for the one that chose to serve under Celestia, though some of them had decided to focus on the Creator's other creations like Celestia and her. When she was imprisoned, they saw right through the lies that she held onto and revealed the corruption that lied beneath.

 _They waited for a thousand years before bringing me back to Equestria. And right in a time period when my saviour is a young mare on the cusp of maturity and skilled in Magic; an example of the archetypal hero who had traveled the Hero's Journey._

 _Did the Stars wait for the coming of an able Magic wielder to save me? Did they have knowledge of the future and acted upon it when the time was right?_

 _Was it a coincidence that Twilight Sparkle had seven Night Sky stars as her Cutie Mark?_

"Thank you for bringing me back to Equestria," Luna spoke. "And thank you for watching over us."

Up above in the Night sky, the Stars twinkled and glimmered more brightly, turning the Night Sky a more vibrant shade of purple.

* * *

A dragon's eyelids consisted of the same thick hide that covered the rest of the body, shielding it from objects and substances that could potentially damage the relatively tender eyes underneath. However, it could not offer any protection against the piercing rays of light that came from Princess Celestia's Sun.

His half-asleep brain registering the intrusion of external stimuli, Spike slowly opened his eyes to take in the first few rays that shone in through the window. His scales brushed against warm, purple fur, creating a sensation of warmth and comfort.

"Ugh," He moaned. "It's so warm in here."

"Morning, Spike." Twilight greeted him with a warm smile on his face. "Did you sleep well?"

Spike slowly blinked twice, his eyes bleary from a night of rest. "Yeah, but it's so warm in here. Did you turn up the heating or-"

Spike paused as he gradually took in the sights of his surroundings, his eyes shifting between his own position, her bed and Twilight's face beaming down at him. Slowly, the reality of the situation sunk in.

"No, Spike, I didn't," Twilight replied.

"Uh, Twilight," Spike began. "Why am I in your bed? Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

"Oh, it's nothing, Spike," Twilight wiped her bloodshot eyes with a hoof. "Something that happened recently taught me the lesson of keeping those you love close to you. Life is short, and we have only so much time in this world."

"So let's get up and enjoy the day today, Spike," She said. "Just you, me, and all our new friends."


End file.
